The leg exercise device of the present invention is provided a base assembly for supporting an adjustable handle assembly and a footplate support assembly. The handle assembly has a pair of tubular support members secured at a lower end adjacent the center of the base assembly at an angle between 45 degrees and 90 degrees. The handle assembly also includes a U-shaped handle bar having a pair of arms that are telescopically received within the tubular support members, and locking for adjustably securing the handle bar to the tubular support members. A footplate support assembly is secured to the tubular support members for rotatably supporting two footplates for independent pivotal movement on an axis above the center of the base assembly.
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1. A leg exercise device, consisting essentially of:
a pair of footplates, each of said footplates including a tubular metal sleeve having a longitudinal slot attached to the center of a bottom face of each footplate transverse to the longitudinal axis of said footplates for rotatably supporting said pair of footplates upon an axle rod;
a footplate support assembly for rotatably supporting said pair of footplates on the axle rod on a base assembly;
an adjustable handle assembly for assisting a user to position themselves in a comfortable stance upon said footplates with the user balanced above said axle rod, wherein said handle assembly includes a first tubular support member and a second tubular support member, said support members being secured at a lower end on opposite sides of said base assembly adjacent the center of said base assembly, said support members extending forward to form an acute angle relative to the said base assembly, said handle assembly further including an elongated flat plate secured at one end to an exterior portion of said upper end of said first tubular support member and secured at a second end to an exterior portion of said upper end of said second tubular support member, said elongated flat plate forming a knee rest and brace for stabilizing said tubular support members in parallel alignment; and
said footplate support assembly being secured to said tubular support members for rotatably supporting an individual upon said footplates above said base assembly for independent pivotal movement about said axle rod, wherein said footplate support assembly includes a first axle rod support brace being configured for rotatably receiving one end of said axle rod, a second axle rod support brace being configured for rotatably receiving a second end of said axle rod, wherein
said base assembly is provided in the form an elongated left rail, an elongated right rail, a front base bar and a rear base bar connected end to end forming a rectangular structure for safely supporting the leg exercise device on any flat surface.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to exercising devices and more particularly to an exercising device for stretching the Achilles tendon, calf and extensor muscles of the leg.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many devices are known in the prior art for exercising the leg muscles by repeated bending or flexing of the ankle joints. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,749 issued Jun. 2, 1981 to Hebern a device is taught that exercises the leg muscles to improve circulation without requiring excessive exertion.
The Hebern device has a parallelepiped frame defining a stall and a planar treadle mounted on the stall for rocking movement about a horizontal axis extending transversely of the stall in the lower portion of the stall. The treadle includes a metallic plate welded to a metallic tube. The ends of the tube fit within bushings on mounting brackets for pivotal or rocking movement about the axis of the tube. A user stands on the treadle and rocks the treadle about the axis by bending of the ankle joints. The Hebern device is directed at people who are basically healthy and to those who may be crippled and requiring proper circulation in the legs with very little exertion. However, the device of Hebern does not allow the exercising of each leg individually as in the case where only one leg has suffered an injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,476 issued May 21, 1996 to McLeon teaches a triplane foot and biplane ankle exercise apparatus and method for exercising the subtalar complex with controlled triplaner motion. The device includes a standing platform and a detachable adjustable handrail assembly in association with a rotatable footplate wherein the footplate is controllable and adjustable in three planes with fixed setting in all planes including the oblique. The handrail assembly includes a U-shaped tubular member that telescopes over two intermediate tubular members. Spring biased push buttons are provide on the intermediate members for mating alignment with a series of handrail holes for adjusting the handrail to a persons height. The McLeon device does not address the stretching of the Achilles tendon, calf and extensor muscles of the leg.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,166 issued Dec. 22, 1998 to Bernardson, a lower extremity rehabilitation and toning exercise apparatus and method are taught. The apparatus incorporates one or two centrally pivoted pedals mounted upon a base. The pedals are mounted in a position facilitating the placement of the feet of a user upon the pedals while seated in a chair. Rocking the pedals with the foot positioned upon them provides a soothing tension relieving motion that will maintain the tone of the muscles of the legs and improve blood circulation in the feet and legs. The apparatus of Bernardson is designed for use in a seated position so as not to injure previously injured muscles or ligaments.
Athletes and officials of athletic competitions generally adopt warm-up and stretching routines prior to the start of the contest. This usually includes calisthenics and individual stretching routines such as sitting on the ground and touching your toes and/or pulling on the toes to stretch the back and Achilles tendon. Heretofore, none of the prior art foot and leg exercising devices provided for warm-up exercises stretching the Achilles tendon, calf and extensor muscles of the leg.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a leg exercise device solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The leg exercise device according to the present invention comprises a base assembly for supporting an adjustable handle assembly and a footplate support assembly. The base assembly is provided in the form an elongated left rail, an elongated right rail, a front base bar and a rear base bar connected end to end forming a rectangular structure for safely supporting the leg exercise device on any flat surface.
The handle assembly has a pair of tubular support members secured at a lower end adjacent the center of the rails of the base assembly at an angle between 45 degrees and 90 degrees toward the forward ends of the rails. The handle assembly also includes a U-shaped handle bar having a pair of arms that are telescopically received within the tubular support members. Means are provided at the top of the tubular support members and on the distal end portions of the arms of the U-shaped handle for adjustably securing the handle bar to the tubular support members. An elongated flat plate is secured by respective ends to the top portion of the tubular support members forming a knee rest and brace for stabilizing the tubular support members in parallel alignment.
A footplate support assembly is secured to the tubular support members for rotatably supporting the weight of an individual upon the two footplates for independent pivotal movement of the footplates about an axis above the center of the base assembly. The handle allow a person using the leg exercise device to easily position themselves in a comfortable stance upon the footplates with the weight of the person balanced above the axis of the footplates.
In this position, the weight of the person may be controllably shifted toward the toes to obtain an extensor muscle stretch or shifted toward the heels to obtain a calf muscle and Achilles tendon stretch. Rocking back and forth in this manner also warms up the ankle and improves circulation to the legs and foot for rehabilitation of injured or painful Achilles tendon, extensor muscle or calf muscles. The knee guard allows a person to obtain maximum stability when accessing a full extensor muscle stretch.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a leg exercise device for improved and maximized stretch of the Achilles tendon, extensor and calf muscles prior to engagement in athletic activities.
It is another object of the invention to provide a leg exercise device suitable for rehabilitation of injured or painful Achilles tendons, extensor and calf muscles.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a leg exercise device which limits the stretch without forcing, so that muscles can be stretch using an individual's own weight one leg at a time or both legs simultaneously.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a leg exercise device having a knee guard or knee rest that allows an individual to obtain maximum stability so as to encourage full stretch of the extensor muscle.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
Looking first at
The handle assembly 500 has a pair of tubular support members 401 and 402 secured at lower ends 409 adjacent the center of the rails 301 and 302, respectively of the base assembly 300. Support members 401 and 402 are attached at an angle between 45 degrees and 90 degrees toward the front ends 309 of the rails 301 and 302, respectively. The handle assembly 500 also includes a U-shaped handle bar having a handle 501 forming the base of the U and pair of arms 502 and 503 that are telescopically received within the tubular support members 401 and 402, respectively. Locking means are provided at the top of the tubular support members 401 and 402 and on the distal end portions of the arms 502 and 503 of the U-shaped handle for adjustably securing the handle bar to the tubular support members 401 and 402.
The locking means is provided in the form of aligned apertures 403 and 404 at the upper open end 407 of tubular support members 401 and 402, and a plurality of aligned apertures 506 at the end portions 504 and 505 of arms 502 and 503, respectively. An elongated flat plate 408 has ends secured to the top portions of the tubular support members forming a knee rest and brace for stabilizing the tubular support members 401 and 402 in parallel alignment. Pegs 405 and 406 cooperate with the aligned apertures of the tubular members 401 and 402 and the aligned apertures 506 of the arms 502 and 503, respectively to lock the handle assembly 500 at various heights suitable for different people.
Referring now to
Turning now to
The handle 501 allow a person using the leg exercise device 200 to easily position themselves in a comfortable stance upon the footplates 421 with the weight of the person balanced above the axis of the footplates 421.
In a variation of the preferred embodiment of the invention, the lower ends of tubular support members 401 and 402 are pivotally mounted to sidewalls 303 and 305 of rails 301 and 302, respectively by any suitable pivot connection. This pivotal arrangement allows the handle assembly 500 to be pivoted downwardly to a compact storage position.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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